


Killing Time

by Daegaer



Series: La Femme Sakura [16]
Category: Weiß Kreuz
Genre: AU, Assassins, F/M, Guns, Stockholm Syndrome, Training, girls, psychic powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-07-23
Updated: 2005-07-23
Packaged: 2017-10-13 03:54:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/132552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daegaer/pseuds/Daegaer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A longer "La Femme Sakura" story (Schuldig makes good on his <em>Kapitel</em> crack of her becoming a hit man).</p>
    </blockquote>





	Killing Time

**Author's Note:**

> A longer "La Femme Sakura" story (Schuldig makes good on his _Kapitel_ crack of her becoming a hit man).

  
"You need to push yourself. You'll never improve like this."

Schuldig kicks the target contemptuously. Sakura looks down. Her aim is perfect, she never misses any more.

"That's not the point," Schuldig says in annoyance. "Target practice, dogs. It's all fucking amateur stuff. It's _boring._ "

She bows, then looks in his face. He doesn't always like her to be deferent. He takes her chin in his hand and looks seriously down into her eyes.

" _Herzchen_ , the others think I'm too soft on you. They think you're insolent and disrespectful to me."

"I'm not," she whispers. "Please, you don't think that, do you?"

"What am I to think?" he shrugs. "You think you're better than me, you don't want to do what I say."

"That's not true," she says, beginning to shake. "Who says that? Did Nagi say that?"

He grins, sharp and mean. "They all say it." He shakes her chin, none too gently. "I want you to prove them wrong."

She nods, finding it hard to breathe. She doesn't have to have Crawford's gift to know what he's going to tell her to do.

"Good girl. I'll arrange things. We won't bring the others along, they might try to upset you." He pushes her hair back from her eyes, his touch gentle now that she's not defiant. "We'll be leaving Germany for a while. I'll set up something nice and simple for you to do before that, and then we'll be off. There won't be anything to worry about, we'll be hundreds of kilometres away in eastern Europe."

He takes her back to the apartment and leaves again with a cheerful wave. She can't eat for the rest of the day, and does not sleep that night. Schuldig keeps her busy the next morning, cleaning guns and checking ammunition. He grins as she stares blankly at a sandwich.

"Eat, or I'll ask Farfarello to feed you."

"If I'm babysitting I'll want TV privileges," Farfarello says. "And I'll think of some nice games to play."

Sakura eats her sandwich. Schuldig rests his hand on her shoulder, squeezing his fingers gently as she pours herself another glass of Coke and takes an apple.

"Good girl. I don't want you fainting."

He wanders away, leaving her at the kitchen table. She looks down at the pale wooden surface. She can feel Farfarello watching her, and eats her apple in small, small bites. If she can make it last till Schuldig comes back she'll be all right. Everything is fine, she is not afraid, she is just sitting at her own table for lunch, and Farfarello won't kill her where he has to eat later.

"Stop daydreaming, _Herzchen_ , time to go."

She looks up to see Schuldig dressed anonymously in jeans and a t-shirt, carrying a backpack. She no longer sees a shoulder holster as worthy of notice. He pulls on a leather jacket, and looks like anyone she might pass on the street.

"One of Nagi's jackets would fit her, wouldn't it?" Schuldig says, looking her up and down.

"You want to touch _Nagi's_ things?" Farfarello says. "He'll break your fingers."

"He's in a good mood," Schuldig says off-hand. "He's talking geek on the net."

"Your funeral," Farfarello says, and glances at Sakura. "Hers too."

Schuldig snorts dismissively and ushers Sakura into the hall. He retrieves a faded denim jacket from the closet and throws it to her. It's a little small, but Sakura puts it on and closes it. Schuldig pushes her out the door and leads her down the stairs and into the streets.

"We'll get you a shoulder holster," he says cheerfully as he unlocks the car. "Nagi's wouldn't fit you properly. It probably doesn't fit him any more either, he's a good bit bigger than when he got it."

Sakura imagines an even smaller Nagi, with stick-thin wrists and a childish face. He'd have been easier to beat, perhaps. Schuldig smirks, then ignores her as he drives. They park in an alleyway and Schuldig takes her arm, pulling her along.

"We're going up there."

She looks up at the building. It is dark and deserted, the lower doors and windows boarded up. Schuldig looks from the ground to a first-floor window, and puts the backpack on.

"Right," he says, and picks her up without warning, slinging her over his shoulders. "Hold tight."

Sakura grabs at the straps of the backpack in panic as she feels him tense, then he jumps. Her stomach feels as if it's been left at ground-level as he lands on the window-sill, and sets her on her feet. He takes a cloth from his pocket, wraps his hand in it, and punches through the glass, reaching in to undo the catch.

"Ladies first," he grins, sliding the window up.

She climbs in, and waits nervously till he shuts the window. The room is dark and echoing. An open plan office, she thinks. Schuldig takes her hand and pulls her after him, across the empty space. They go up the stairs, and cross to the other side of the building. From the window Sakura has a clear view of an intersection.

"Look carefully," Schuldig says as she obediently puts the rifle together. "Take your time looking through the sights."

Sakura knocks out part of a pane of glass with the rifle butt and adjusts the sights. Everything springs into sharp relief, close and intimate. Schuldig raises binoculars to his eyes.

"Yeah," he says. "Not bad. Do you have everything in focus?"

"Yes," she says.

"All right. Pay attention to how long it takes the pedestrians to cross. Fifteen seconds, easy. None of them are hurrying. You have plenty of time."

"Yes," she says, counting as the man she has in her sights crosses. Sixteen seconds.

"That's it, just keep them in the cross-hairs. Get used to it. You're doing fine."

She _is_ doing fine, she thinks. She should be feeling worried, should be resisting this. It feels just like target practice.

"OK. That guy in the red jacket. Got him?"

"Yes."

"Drop him. Right in the middle of the road."

She moves the rifle smoothly, keeping the man in the cross-hairs. He looks both ways as he starts to cross and she sees his face. She feels light-headed and the rifle wavers.

"It's OK," Schuldig says calmly. "Everyone gets first-time nerves. Hold on."

He bends and takes a bottle from the backpack, holding it out to her. She opens it, smelling orange squash.

"Sip. Take nice deep breaths. Good girl, you're OK."

The sugary drink helps. She raises the rifle again without being told. There are no pedestrians on the road. She keeps looking, aware of nothing but the distant scene. Schuldig doesn't stir beside her.

"Here we go. Go for a clean shot - not the group, the girl behind them by herself. Got her?"

"Yes," Sakura says. The girl is wearing a light spring dress, her feet in pink sandals. Her hair moves in the breeze. She is walking along with no cares, with no one telling her what to do and how to think every moment of every day. She has never touched a gun, has seen them only on television. Sakura hates her.

She squeezes the trigger.

"Yes!" Schuldig cries. " _Tschüß_ , you little bitch!"

A young man bends down to help the girl who has tripped, then jumps back, his face appalled. Sakura watches the scene through her rifle sights. It's interesting. Schuldig is laughing. He puts a hand on her rifle and takes it away, turning her to face him.

"My little killer," he grins. "Damn, you did it, all by yourself." He takes the rifle apart, laughing as he does so. " _Herzchen_ ," he says, "you're my favourite student."

Sakura waits quietly, and walks beside him down the stairs and all the way back to the broken window. She should feel more, she knows, and is worried that she doesn't. Schuldig drapes a long arm around her shoulders when they walk back to the car, chatting about how pleased he is, what a good girl she is, and Sakura decides that worry is a waste of energy. Schuldig drives them to a Japanese restaurant and watches with glee as she orders the most expensive dishes.

"Sake or wine?" he asks.

"You decide," she says, and meekly accepts the white wine she is given. It makes her head feel strange after the second glass.

"A toast," Schuldig says during dessert. "Let's kill all the fuckers and charge a fucking fortune."

Sakura raises her glass, an obedient smile on her lips.

"Wait till I tell Crawford," Schuldig says cheerfully. "He thinks you're useless, but you showed him." He pays, leaves a generous tip, and drives them back to the apartment. The others are watching television.

"Our little Sakura is a made woman," Schuldig says triumphantly.

Crawford looks up, bored. "Congratulations, Ms Tomoe," he says wryly. "I'm sure you're very proud of your accomplishment." He turns back to the television, ignoring her polite bow. Neither Nagi nor Farfarello look at her at all.

She sits obediently, still feeling light-headed from the wine, and watches the game show they seem enthralled by, then the news, then half of an old film.

"Are you tired, _Herzchen_?" Schuldig asks. "You look sleepy."

She nods once.

"Well, you go to bed then. Take as long as you like in the bathroom."

It's a nice reward, and she thinks maybe she'll have a shower. She quietly gets up and bows to them, walking silently from the room. The water is hot and comforting, and she no longer cares about smelling of men's toiletries. She combs her hair straight and slips out of the bathroom. Schuldig is leaning against the wall, waiting for her.

"Hey, _Herzchen_ ," he says quietly.

She smiles nervously as he tucks a strand of damp hair back behind her ear.

"I'm very pleased with you. You did really, really well today," he says, and reaches into a back pocket. He brings out something small and tissue-wrapped. She takes it hesitantly, and unwraps a silver bracelet, inlaid with diagonal strips of some light blue material. "It's turquoise," he says. "I saw you looking at it last week when we were in town. Do you like it?" She looks up in surprise. It's not just that she can't remember the bracelet, but that his voice is eager. She nods and smiles, as she always does when he talks to her. "I wanted you to have something nice," Schuldig goes on, taking it and clicking it closed about her wrist. "I really am pleased with you," he says, and kisses her forehead. "Go on, go to bed." He gives her a little push towards her room, and walks away. She stares after him, and then down at the bracelet, wondering how he can be suddenly someone who cares whether or not she likes his present. It's too confusing. She just goes to bed.

She wakes from a dream of a girl dressed in bright spring clothing, going about her business, her skirt swinging at her knees, then crumpling in a tangle of bare limbs. Sakura's stomach cramps and she feels sick. She scrambles from her camp bed, out into the hall and into the dark bathroom, where she vomits until she is empty. Wearily she cleans the bathroom and brushes her teeth till all she can taste is toothpaste.

Then she goes back to her tiny room and sleeps soundly till morning.

 

 


End file.
